LAKE LINDEN, MI— The Environmental Protection Agency has begun a $12 million cleanup project at Torch Lake in Lake Linden.
Crews will remove about 13,300 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with lead, zinc, and PCBs. After the sediment is removed, dredged areas will be restored with clean backfill material and sand.
While the Lake Linden campground and marina will remain open during the cleanup, there will be no access to the beach area this year.
In 1987, Torch Lake was identified as one of 23 areas in the U.S. with significant environmental degradation. Copper mining in the region left 200 million tons of waste stamp sands in the lakebed.
Officials say once cleanup is completed and monitoring demonstrates sufficient environmental improvement, fish- and wildlife-consumption advisories will be reevaluated.
